Andrew Gaze
July 23, 2020
Andrew Walter
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 10/03/75
- Place of Birth: Melbourne (VIC)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 193
- Weight (KG): 85
- Junior Assoc: VIC - Melbourne
- College: Arizona State (1989–1993)
- NBL DEBUT: 23/04/93
- AGE AT DEBUT: 18
- LAST NBL GAME: 27/09/95
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 20
- NBL History: Melbourne 1993-95
- Championships: 1
- Melbourne (1993)
BIO: Andrew Walter was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Melbourne basketball program.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Andrew Walter made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 18 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.
The Tigers’ season began with the huge signing of Mark Bradtke during the pre-season. His arrival made national news, with Bradtke having spent the off-seasonplaying in Spain and giving former team Adelaide a verbal agreement he would play for them if he returned in 1993. However, upon his return to Australia, Bradtke made it known he did not want to play the final year of his contract in Adelaide, amongst rumours the Melbourne Tigers were actively recruiting him. After negotiations between the two parties broke down, the 36ers gave permission for Bradtke to leave if a team would buy out his remaining contract. However, the NBL stepped in and vetoed the buyout, effectively letting Bradtke leave for Melbourne without the 36ers receiving any compensation. After the fact it became clear Bradtke had decided to move to Melbourne to be closer to then girlfriend (and future wife), pro-tennis player Nicole Provis.
Although the Tigers were coming off a grand final appearance, they began the season poorly and no one was pencilling them in for the championship at midseason. After shaking off their slow start (2-7) but finishing the remainder of the season strong (14-3), the Tigers finished the year in third place. Bradtke (17 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) became the missing puzzle piece to Melbourne’s historically weak frontline as Andrew Gaze (32.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.7 steals), Lanard Copeland (22.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals) led the team in scoring.
Walter appeared in 11 games and averaged 0.9 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.1 assists for the season.
During the quarterfinals, the Tigers would easily eliminate Illawarra (2-0), setting up a rematch of last year’s grand final, a semi finals showdown against South East Melbourne. Copeland (32 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals), Gaze (23 points 3 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Bradtke (21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) combined for 76 points and in nail-biting two point win to open the series (108-106). In game two, Bradtke (28 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 steals) was the difference maker, proven unstoppable for the Magic as the Tigers closed out the series behind a 17 point win (89-72).
On the opposite side of the bracket, the Perth Wildcats (21-5) had finished on top of the ladder and made their way through to the Grand Final.
The series played out with the Tigers winning the opening game (117-113), falling short in Perth in game two (112-105) and thanks to a last-second shot from Vlahov (31 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) which rattled in and out of the ring, the Tigers become NBL champions for the very first time in game three (104-102).
1994
Coming off a title in 1993, the Tigers were able to return with almost the entire roster, losing only backup big man Robert Sibley (to Brisbane), who they would replace with a young Chris Anstey. The defending champions would go on to record their best regular season result in the club’s history (19-7), finishing in second place. Andrew Gaze (33.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) was awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player award and led the league in scoring, while Mark Bradtke (20.2 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks) led the league in rebounding and both were also selected to the All-NBL First Team. Once into the postseason, Melbourne would defeat Illawarra convincingly in both game one (107-85) and game two (119-83) before facing a incredibly talented (and deep) Adelaide team in the semifinals, which featured Rob Rose, Mark Davis, Willie Simmons, Phil Smyth, Brett Maher and Chris Blakemore. The 36ers defeated the Tigers first in Adelaide (101-88) and then repeated the result on Melbourne’s home floor (110-101) to end the Tiger’s season and move on to the Grand Final to face North Melbourne.
Walter would continue to see limited playing opportunities with the Tigers, appearing in only 10 games, averaging 1.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists.
1995
In 1995, Mark Bradtke requested some time off to allow him to support his wife Nicole’s tennis career as she travelled abroad and miss the first two-thirds of the season. Around that same time, Chris Anstey, a part of the Tigers junior program, also informed the club that he would return, having signed a deal to play with rival club South East Melbourne. Melbourne coach Lindsey Gaze appealed via the NBL tribunal, which ruled that Anstey could not leave the Tigers as long as they could match the contract, which they did.
After some extremely creative salary tweaking, the Magic then signed Anstey to a one year deal worth $180,000 which the Tigers had no interest in matching, allowing Anstey to shift clubs. Once Anstey had signed with the Magic, he renegotiated his contract to a 3-year, $181,000 contract, remaining higher than the Tigers contract not to break any NBL salary cap rules of the time.
The Tigers added forward Matt Reece (via Gold Coast) and centre Blair Smith (via Brisbane) to cover the loss of Bradtke and Anstey.
Andrew Gaze (33.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2.3 steals), Lanard Copeland (25.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals) and Dave Simmons (14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks) led the team offensively, during a season which saw a merry-go-round of league leaders, during the regular season, Brisbane, Sydney, North Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Melbourne all sat in the number one spot on the ladder some point. With Melbourne narrowly sitting among the top eight team’s (10-7), Bradtke (11.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks) would return to playout the Tigers’ last nine games for the season.
The Tigers would scrape into the playoffs, claiming the eighth seed (14-12), their worst result since 1988. With Bradtke out of form and the team still adjusting to him being back in the lineup, Melbourne was eliminated by the Perth Wildcats in the first round (1-2).
Walter would deliver his best season in what be his last in the NBL, appearing in 22 games and averaging 3.9 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.
A great Australian sporting rivalry!! pic.twitter.com/qVrlKwROkN— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) March 21, 2023
Andrew Walter played three seasons with the Melbourne Tigers. He averaged 2.6 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 43 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 20 | Melbourne | 14-12 (8) | 22 | 219 | 85 | 26 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 33 | 74 | 45% | 6 | 24 | 25% | 13 | 19 | 68% | 51% | 49% | 11 |
| 1994 | 19 | Melbourne | 19-7 (1) | 10 | 32 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 27% | 0 | 2 | 0% | 9 | 12 | 75% | 41% | 27% | 4 |
| 1993 | 18 | Melbourne | 16-10 (3) | 11 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 44% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 2 | 3 | 67% | 48% | 0% | 6 | Totals | 43 | 286 | 112 | 36 | 17 | 22 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 34 | 41 | 98 | 41.8% | 6 | 27 | 22.2% | 24 | 34 | 70.6% | 50% | 45% | 11 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 20 | Melbourne | 14-12 (8) | 22 | 10.0 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 45% | 0.3 | 1.1 | 25% | 0.6 | 0.9 | 68% | 51% | 49% | 11 |
| 1994 | 19 | Melbourne | 19-7 (1) | 10 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 27% | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0% | 0.9 | 1.2 | 75% | 41% | 27% | 4 |
| 1993 | 18 | Melbourne | 16-10 (3) | 11 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 44% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 0.2 | 0.3 | 67% | 48% | 0% | 6 | Total | 43 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 41.8% | 0.0 | 22.2% | 0.1 | 0.6 | 70.6% | 50% | 45% | 11 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
COLLEGE
Walter suited up for Arizona State during the 1989-90 season under head coach Bill Frieder and remained with the Sun Devils through 1992-93, completing a four-year career in the Pac-10 Conference while developing from a reserve freshman into a consistent frontcourt contributor.
In 1989-90, Arizona State finished 19-11 overall and 11-7 in Pac-10 play, and Walter appeared in 28 games off the bench, averaging 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game while shooting 46-for-94 from the field (48.9%) and 14-of-22 from the free-throw line (63.6%).
Across that freshman campaign, he totaled 106 points and 59 rebounds, including 23 offensive boards and 36 defensive rebounds, while adding eight assists, six steals, and 11 blocked shots as Arizona State earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament before falling in the opening round.
As a sophomore in 1990-91, Walter’s role expanded and he played in all 29 games with eight starts, averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest while logging 229 total points on 96-for-182 shooting (52.7%) and 37-of-58 from the foul line (63.8%).
That 1990-91 season saw him record 130 total rebounds, including 54 offensive rebounds, while contributing 21 assists and 18 blocks as Arizona State finished 18-11 overall and 9-9 in conference play.
In 1991-92, Walter became a regular starter and opened 26 of 30 games, averaging 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 153-for-285 from the field (53.7%) and 71-of-103 at the free-throw line (68.9%) across 861 total minutes.
He totaled 378 points and 204 rebounds that season, including 82 offensive rebounds, while adding 39 assists, 22 steals, and 31 blocks as Arizona State posted a 15-15 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Pac-10 play.
As a senior in 1992-93, Walter started all 28 games and averaged 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest, producing 460 total points on 178-for-324 shooting (54.9%) and 104-of-145 from the free-throw line (71.7%).
During that senior campaign, he grabbed 249 total rebounds, including 97 offensive rebounds, while recording 44 assists, 28 steals, and 36 blocked shots in 952 minutes, and he finished among the Pac-10 leaders in field-goal percentage while earning All-Pac-10 recognition.
Walter registered 14 games of 20 or more points in 1992-93, including a 28-point, 12-rebound performance against USC on January 14 and a 26-point, 15-rebound outing versus Washington State on February 6, and he closed his collegiate career with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double in his final home appearance at Wells Fargo Arena.
Across his four seasons at Arizona State, Walter appeared in 115 games with 62 starts, totaling 1,173 career points and 642 rebounds while shooting 473-for-885 from the field (53.4%) and 226-of-328 at the free-throw line (68.9%).
He finished his career ranked among the program’s top rebounders of the early 1990s era, recording 233 offensive rebounds and 409 defensive rebounds overall, and graduated prior to 1993 after completing his collegiate eligibility at Arizona State.
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